The Cardinal Newman Crusaders will face off against the Coral Shores Hurricanes at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Cardinal Newman is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They came out on top against King's Academy by a score of 5-1.
Max Gonzalez
| 04/17/25 vs King's Academy | 2 |
| 04/10/25 @ Okeechobee | 2 |
| 04/04/25 vs Seminole Ridge | 2 |
| 03/26/25 vs Williamsburg | 0 |
Max Gonzalez spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 12 Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, James Elliot was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Gianluca Luciano, who went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Coral Shores hadn't done well against Keys Gate recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Hurricanes blew past the Knights 12-6. The result was nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have now won ten matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Donovan Thiery was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out 12 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up six earned runs off seven hits (and only one walk). Thiery was even better at the plate, firing off two home runs, three runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on AJ Putetti, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Eddie Holly was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs.
Coral Shores was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive contests.
Cardinal Newman's victory was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 23-3-1. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Coral Shores, their victory bumped their record up to 19-3-1.
